Standard Benchmarks and Learning Objectives are very important in a lesson. These two tell the teacher and the student what they should be learning during this class. In this lesson plan, there was no mention of a national or state standard. The teacher did follow a clear set of instructions for the lesson plan, though. In her plan, the teacher stated that there were three parts of the lesson; a review of 3-5 vocabulary words, the introduction of eight new terms, and student class work incorporating those words. The lesson plan seems to be very solid, leaving room for no mistakes. The teacher is very descriptive about her ideas for the class and how they should learn the vocabulary presented.
II. The Learning Environment
The arrangement of this classroom appeared to be in small groups of students. The students appeared to be seated at co-ed tables across from each other. The teacher remained in the middle of all the tables around the room and utilized an overhead to display the worksheet that the students were using. When the students were working on their own, the teacher walked around the room to make sure that they were recording their answers. The teacher was inviting to different answers even when incorrect. The teacher remained with the student that had given the incorrect answer until they understood what the correct answer was. She also asked different students and different tables the for their answers and did not just rely on one table or student.
III. The Learning Activities
The lesson included four different vocabulary words. When the lesson began the students had to decide which sentence would best describe the word, "immovable". The students used their text books to record their answers. When the student was called on, he gave the correct answer, and the teacher then asked him why he choose that answer, and what that example had shown to him, as well as what the key word was to show him what the word "immovable" meant. The teacher appeared happy with the answer that the student gave and then moved on. The next word that the teacher used was "unique". The teacher related this word to the two different sentences and asked the students to record their answer again. When the teacher had called on another student, the student had given the wrong answer. The teacher then continued to work with the student to help them discover what the correct answer was and why their answer was incorrect. The next vocabulary word that the students discussed was "shrewd". The teacher put this word in a phrase "shrewd shopper" to help the students better understand the definition. The students were then asked to discuss what they believed the definition of this word was. After, they were asked to go around the room and tell the teacher what they found. Within those answers there were correct and incorrect ones, and the teacher remained to give positive feedback to all the students and continue to ask for more detail to their answers. The last word that the teacher had taught was "colossal". When the teacher taught this word she had asked one student describe that word and then had corrected him as well as gave him positive feedback. Then the teacher had asked the entire class what their definitions of the word were as well. During the activities none of the students really interacted with each other, they spent most of their time interacting with the teacher if they participated at all. The students did not shout out answers or respond to other's answers directly.
IV. Personal Reflections (Yours)
Andrea Moore:
I thought this lesson was very effective because the teacher got the students involved. Although all the students didn't participate right away or know all of the correct answers, they seemed to be interested. It is hard to get 5th graders interested in a lesson that is just about words but the teacher put them into a context that was a little more interesting, and that could give them clues about the word's meaning. The teacher also faced the children during the lesson which I thought was very important because she would not have been able to be effective if she was turned away from them. I think the set up helped the students participate, because they were sitting straight across from each other they could see other students participating which probably made others more interested as well. Overall, the lesson seemed to be a success because the students and teacher interacted very well together. - andrea_moore
I believe that this lesson was very effective. The teacher had managed to get a great amount of the class to participate in the lesson. The teacher had a variety of ways to teach about the different vocab words. Even though not all of the students had gotten the correct answers the teacher had made sure to correct them as well as to teach them why their answers were not the best answer. She gave each student a great amount of positive feedback that was supportive and kept each of the students engaged as well as confident. When the teacher had walked around the room she had looked at each of the students papers to make sure that they were engaged in the lesson and participating to ensure that the students were comprehending the lesson. I believe that the set up of the room was a positive atmosphere for the students and helped each of the students work on teamwork, yet they were still able to give their attention to the teacher and participate in the class. Overall I believe that the lesson was successful and that the students were successful as well. - Arly_Bratman
Title: 5th Grade Vocabulary Instruction
Authors:
1. Arly Bratman2. Andrea Moore
I. Standard Benchmark(s) and Learning Objective:
Standard Benchmarks and Learning Objectives are very important in a lesson. These two tell the teacher and the student what they should be learning during this class. In this lesson plan, there was no mention of a national or state standard. The teacher did follow a clear set of instructions for the lesson plan, though. In her plan, the teacher stated that there were three parts of the lesson; a review of 3-5 vocabulary words, the introduction of eight new terms, and student class work incorporating those words. The lesson plan seems to be very solid, leaving room for no mistakes. The teacher is very descriptive about her ideas for the class and how they should learn the vocabulary presented.II. The Learning Environment
The arrangement of this classroom appeared to be in small groups of students. The students appeared to be seated at co-ed tables across from each other. The teacher remained in the middle of all the tables around the room and utilized an overhead to display the worksheet that the students were using. When the students were working on their own, the teacher walked around the room to make sure that they were recording their answers. The teacher was inviting to different answers even when incorrect. The teacher remained with the student that had given the incorrect answer until they understood what the correct answer was. She also asked different students and different tables the for their answers and did not just rely on one table or student.III. The Learning Activities
The lesson included four different vocabulary words. When the lesson began the students had to decide which sentence would best describe the word, "immovable". The students used their text books to record their answers. When the student was called on, he gave the correct answer, and the teacher then asked him why he choose that answer, and what that example had shown to him, as well as what the key word was to show him what the word "immovable" meant. The teacher appeared happy with the answer that the student gave and then moved on. The next word that the teacher used was "unique". The teacher related this word to the two different sentences and asked the students to record their answer again. When the teacher had called on another student, the student had given the wrong answer. The teacher then continued to work with the student to help them discover what the correct answer was and why their answer was incorrect. The next vocabulary word that the students discussed was "shrewd". The teacher put this word in a phrase "shrewd shopper" to help the students better understand the definition. The students were then asked to discuss what they believed the definition of this word was. After, they were asked to go around the room and tell the teacher what they found. Within those answers there were correct and incorrect ones, and the teacher remained to give positive feedback to all the students and continue to ask for more detail to their answers. The last word that the teacher had taught was "colossal". When the teacher taught this word she had asked one student describe that word and then had corrected him as well as gave him positive feedback. Then the teacher had asked the entire class what their definitions of the word were as well. During the activities none of the students really interacted with each other, they spent most of their time interacting with the teacher if they participated at all. The students did not shout out answers or respond to other's answers directly.IV. Personal Reflections (Yours)
Andrea Moore:I thought this lesson was very effective because the teacher got the students involved. Although all the students didn't participate right away or know all of the correct answers, they seemed to be interested. It is hard to get 5th graders interested in a lesson that is just about words but the teacher put them into a context that was a little more interesting, and that could give them clues about the word's meaning. The teacher also faced the children during the lesson which I thought was very important because she would not have been able to be effective if she was turned away from them. I think the set up helped the students participate, because they were sitting straight across from each other they could see other students participating which probably made others more interested as well. Overall, the lesson seemed to be a success because the students and teacher interacted very well together. -
I believe that this lesson was very effective. The teacher had managed to get a great amount of the class to participate in the lesson. The teacher had a variety of ways to teach about the different vocab words. Even though not all of the students had gotten the correct answers the teacher had made sure to correct them as well as to teach them why their answers were not the best answer. She gave each student a great amount of positive feedback that was supportive and kept each of the students engaged as well as confident. When the teacher had walked around the room she had looked at each of the students papers to make sure that they were engaged in the lesson and participating to ensure that the students were comprehending the lesson. I believe that the set up of the room was a positive atmosphere for the students and helped each of the students work on teamwork, yet they were still able to give their attention to the teacher and participate in the class. Overall I believe that the lesson was successful and that the students were successful as well. -
SBLD - Grade 5 Vocab F08